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Speaks' LiveJournal:
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| Monday, December 14th, 2009 | | 1:18 pm |
Because they diserve it!
So... New Moon has been out for a while in all its Abtastic glory. ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) pipistrella and I have discussed going to the dollar theater when it comes out and wearing headphones so we can look at all the eye-candy yet not really be affected by the terrible story. Someone came to me at my office and very seriously asked me "Whats the worst thing about the Twilight Books?" I responded "I think that Edward treats Bella very badly and I Don't want my girls to feel that this is an appropriate relationship." The person looked back at me forelornly and said, "You were supposed to say 'Vampires can't go out into the sunlight.'" I responded that this was also bad too, but there were so many versions of the vampire myth that it didn't get me near as upset. I pointed out that Brahm Stoker's Dracula could go out by day. So. I have found on the web 2 wonderful things that make it almost worth it that New Moon has come out. The first is the Lovely and Talented Cleolinda who writes Movies in 15 Minutes. She does New Moon in 15 minutes.But the breakaway Hit is from Storm who sings in Paul and Storm. He has written "Emily and the Really Sexy Vampyre" Oh the Huge-Mockery!You can also hear Storm narrate the first chapter on his podcast. here Current Mood:  cheerful | | Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 | | 10:55 am |
| | Friday, November 27th, 2009 | | 1:39 pm |
Fatherhood Poll. Glee Related.
So. The family is watching the TV show Glee. As part of the show, one of the female characters (Quinn) is impregnated by the school lothario (Puck), but her regular boyfriend (Finn) thinks the child is his and she is allowing that misconception. Puck knows the kid is his and everything goes round and round in humorous fashion. In the most recent episode, Quinn actually considers that Puck might be a better father for her child than Finn. Ultimately she decides on Finn as the best father of her baby. My wife and I had a discussion about this and thought it would make a good Livejournal discussion. Finn is the all American stereotypical quarterback. He's none to bright and shows an amazing lack of initiative. One gets the impression he is pretty good at doing what is expected of him but you get the impression if he were left in a field he'd just slowly starve to death. He's very nice and caring. He is surprisingly progressive. (He objected to the football players tormenting the oddball characters and has been surprisingly tolerant of the Gay Character although that could also be a sign of his cluelessness) Puck is a criminal. He sells pot. He lies and steals. He sleeps around with not only other high school girls, but their mothers. However he is very resourceful. He owns his own legitimate business in addition to his drug dealing. He obviously cares a great deal about the baby and is willing to do 'whatever it takes' to provide for the baby. So here is the thing. Is being a nice guy better than being a provider? I think both Finn and Puck will love the child. I don't think Puck necessarily loves Quinn. But I also don't think Finn will be a very good provider for the child. As part of the hypothetical, Quinn cannot give the child away. Who does she spend her life with? Current Mood:  thoughtful | | Friday, November 20th, 2009 | | 10:24 am |
Somedays you just have to run with what you know.
So I am doing a closing today and the broker, the buyer and his son are chattering away in Spanish. Most of it was explaining the documents to the father who was buying the house. I caught about 1 word in 5 or so. My vocabulary, particularly where Home Closings are concerned is good enough to comprehend but not to speak. At the end of the closing, the dad looked at me expectantly as if to say "Is that it?" I smiled at him and exclaimed "Feliz cumpleaños!" After a brief moment of staring at me, they laughed and I explained, "I don't know how to say 'Congratulations' in Spanish so I used the next best thing." And I gave a silent prayer of thanks to Dora the Explorer. Current Mood:  amused | | Monday, November 2nd, 2009 | | 9:42 am |
Time keeps on slipping... slipping... slipping
So we have a time change. It happens every time around this year so its not surprising. The thing I find surprising is the speed in which my internal clock handles it. My body seems to flow into natural rhythms with astonishing ease. I first wake up at 6:30 or so when the alarm goes off for Mongasika has to go to school. (Why 2nd graders should go to school so early is beyond me). I then doze off until 7:20 when I roll over, look at my clock and sleep again until 7:40 when I repeat the process. At 7:50 my body is fully awake. I shower dress and fly out the door. You'd think that my body would have started doing these things an hour later under normal circumstances, but no all of them happened the same as if there was no time change. I briefly remember at 7:20 being annoyed at how much light in the room there was, but saw that it was sunlight and not artificial and so just rolled over. And I've always been able to do this regardless of when I go to sleep. If I lie down at 11 (my normal sleep time) I get up at htose hours. If I stay up til 2:AM I get up at those hours. In college, I could look at a clock, determine what time I needed to get up, and my body would wake up at that time (within 5-10 minutes). Its a neat trick. In other news, my dog seems to have the same ability. One of the reasons I get up at 7:20 is that the dog wants to go pee. Apparently she has also adjusted to the time change because she was whining at the door at 7:20 and not 6:20. Current Mood:  curious | | Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 | | 2:35 pm |
A pagan wedding
So a couple of weeks ago, I went to a pagan wedding. As many of you know, I am pretty solidly Christian, but I know my pagan-fu pretty strong. I've been the token Christian for several circles and my own interest in religion in general gives me a solid grounding. I thought it was a little funny: I gasped when the bride was drawing the circle because it looked like she was about to ward herself OUTSIDE and her husband inside, but she stepped inside the circle before she closed it. But one thing that seems strong to me is the sense of presence in a ceremony put on by devout practitioners of whatever religion. When they called to the spirits of the quarters I felt *something* there. Interesting it wasn't the sense that my God and the Pagan Goddess or the like were all the same and just different names for all the same thing. Its more a sense that a 'power' has been called and that its there and present but not a power that I am familiar with. I don't get the 'oh god its evil kill it' feeling that one might expect I should feel if one was fundamentalist Christian. And as I said, I don't feel like its just my God in a different name. Naturally the rationalists among my friends will insist that I'm just picking up on the feelings of the event and the participants and that there is no power spirit or god or whatever there. They may be right, but I am happy to believe otherwise. A magical world is probably better than the real one sometimes. And weddings are a good place for magical thinking. Current Mood:  optimistic | | Monday, October 19th, 2009 | | 11:31 am |
So, I went and saw "Where the Wild Things Are" with my youngest daughter. She loved it, but I think that it was because she was too young to understand the subtext. The entire "wild things" part of the movie is an extended metaphor for the Kid dealing with his broken home life. (Dad divorced Mom. Son lives with Mom and Negligent Older Sister). That made the movie rather dark and depressing to me. Watching the 'feeling nobody listens to or love me' personified or the 'anger that everything is going all wrong' walk around and scream and moan is disconcerting. I much preferred the whimsy of the 10 sentence book. One part i did like was the Monster "Carrol" was voiced by James Gandolfini. I was able to handle the movie much better when I thought it was a Whacky Dream Sequence from "The Sopranos" and imagined it as the REAL Finale to the series where Tony choked on a bad Onion Ring and blacked out, only to awaken as a giant muppet! Another movie that is coming out that looks fun is "Planet 51" which is an animated movie where a human astronaut lands on a planet inhabited by space aliens and whacky hijinks ensue. (The Human is the monster, get it!) I was kinda jazzed about the move but got confused by the casting. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson plays Captain Charles T. Baker. Thats cool. The Rock has proven himself to have decent acting chops, particularly in comedy roles. However, when you watch the move Charles T. Baker is a blond haired blue eyed caucasian astronaut. The Rock is part Black part Samoan. He's a good looking man. Did they think that to sell the movie they had to make the lead caucasian? And not only white but NORDIC. Should this bother me? I didn't complain that Mike Myers wasn't really an Ogre. Current Mood:  confused | | Wednesday, October 7th, 2009 | | 10:13 am |
Follow your Bliss
So I tweeted (And Facebooked Statused) the other day: Reclaiming my bliss is priority one. I've been anxious and stressy lately and I need to get on top of that. Often I will spiral and once I start down that path, for too long will it dominate my destiny. Tim Klein, a very good friend of mine asked on Facebook: Did someone take it from you? This is a very profound question. I could blame my lack of bliss on the Economy, or various people at work, or different irritants going on in my life. Ultimately though, my bliss is my own. I am the one who decides if I am happy with the way things are or not. Its a very eastern concept. The Taoist can be living in filth under a highway and eating scraps he finds in dumpsters and yet still be happier than a Fortune 500 CEO. Its all a matter of finding contentment in your place and attitude. Its very hard for the western mindset to be content. We are constantly measuring ourselves against each other, or even our own perceptions of where we should be. On the plus side, its what makes the West leaders in innovation. On the downside it tends to make us depressed and anxious most of the time. So while its easy to blame external circumstances for ones happiness. The important thing to remember, is YOU control whether you are happy or not. It may be easier or harder to be happy under certain circumstances, but when the rubber hits the road, if you can do it, decide to be happy. Current Mood: thoughtful | | Tuesday, September 29th, 2009 | | 10:52 am |
Book Review: "The City & The City" by China Mieville
So, anyone who loves the Lovecraftain/Gaimanian lovechild that was the Bas-Lag Universe knows that China Mieville is a treat to read. This book no less so. It starts as a typical Murder Mystery fare with a dead body dumped in an alley. You soon learn that there are weird and mystical implications with the Co-Located cities of Bezel and Ul-Qoma. Ultimately a conspiracy theory and convoluted past emerges that puts to shame any Dan Brown work, and Mieville doesn't have to crib from "Holy Blood/Holy Grail" or Robert Anton Wilson's "Illuminatus Trillogy" to get his info. Mieville creates the entire story whole cloth and makes a uniquely fascinating world. There are times I actually think Mieville is giving a nod to Dan Brown with visits to old professors and crazy conspiracy themes. I like to think he is saying 'THIS is how you do it, you hack!' Of course Dan Brown looks down on Mieville from his giant pile of money with a shrug, but it makes me happy. Read Mieville. Everything he writes. Woot. Current Mood:  giddy | | Friday, September 25th, 2009 | | 10:28 am |
| | Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009 | | 10:32 am |
| | Friday, September 18th, 2009 | | 10:21 am |
Aion The Third!
Hopefully my last post on Aion because we will be moving the conversation on line soon. I wanted to get this out because Preselection starts today: Guild Name: Phos kai Skotos No objections. (No Puns. Sounds cool) Vent Server: 76.76.15.78 Port: 9630 (This was actually mildly controvercial. We had three very welcome offers for Vent servers. ![[info]](http://s.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png) howlwhite offered space on his server which he uses for his WoW guild. lightbearer had a server that he hosted a WoW guild that is now defunct on that would have to be renewed or not in October. dj_stringbean has a boss who bought time on a vent server SPECIFICALLY to run Aion on. So I think that's where we should go. Again thanks to everyone for all the offers.) Elyos Side: Lumiel Asmodian Side: Marchutan (The people most interested in playing Asmodians wanted a West Coast Server. They also suspect Marcutan will be less crowded because it has a funny name). Guild set up: Anyone known to me or vouched for by anyone known to me will be given full access to everything. Cold Callers will not have access to the guild bank or invite privileges until someone is willing to vouch for them. Guild Rules: Don't be a Dick. We are a social guild and everyone is here to have fun. A MMO lives or dies by the social groups involved. If everyone works to make it a fun experience for everyone then we'll have a good time and thrive. Ways you can make Aion better for everyone: 1) Be willing to group with others. 2 players can go through content far more successfully than 1. In addition once you hit 16th Level zones, there is the possibility of PvP through rifts. A buddy can prevent you from being pwned. Also once you get to about 16th level you start seeing GROUP quests that should require 2+ members. Finally, XP is decent when you are fighting lower level mobs, and it is common knowledge that questing will only make up about 80% of your level. 2) Help your bank with crafting and excess Kinah or manastones. I would love to see everyone have a Size 1 cube by 5th level or so and everyone have a Size 2 cube by 10th level. Some people are just better at the money game than others. Also, if I am a tailor, I still will gather Ore. I can throw the ore into the guild bank for the weapon and armorcrafters. Hopefully they will throw cotton and hides in for me. Manastones seem plentiful so they are a low priority, we'll have to see how much space we can get on our bank. Thats about it for now. Feel free to comment etc. here. PARTICULARLY once you have preslected your characters names. Also if you want to stake out a tradeskill that would be nifty. Names and Tradeskills: Elyos: Aquinas / Alchemist Asmodean: Raquiel / Weaponcrafter Current Mood:  excited | | Wednesday, September 16th, 2009 | | 7:58 pm |
AION Redux
Ok. We're running into the last few days before Aion Launch. My plans are still: The Asmodian Guild will be on Kaisinel and the Elyos Guild will be on Lumiel. Kaisinel is a West Coast Server so everything will be 3 hours off, for whatever thats worth. Lumiel is an East Coast Server but is also apparently an RP server. Does anyone have a problem with this? I am thinking of buying a vent server. Would people use it? Can someone set up a message board? Legion Name so far: Aion Flux Speak now or forever hold your peace. Current Mood: excited | | Sunday, September 13th, 2009 | | 7:51 am |
AION Stuff!
I'm at my mom's house and without my User Tools so this may be a bit choppy. I would put a cut but I can't do it without my user tools. This will be boring for anyone not on Aion, but useful for people that are. I have been playing Aion since the second closed Beta. I missed a bit of the open beta because my 20th HS reunion was this weekend. People before Pixels and all. All in all I found it a fun little game. And most importantly, I have RL friends that are going to play. Because of this, I have decided to work to organize a Legion (guild). The last time I did this was Everquest, so you can tell I am serious about this. I will make 2 guilds, sister guilds Elyos and Asmodian. The Asmodian Guild will be on Kaisinel and the Elyos Guild will be on Lumiel. I expect that I personally will be spending more time on the Elyos guild, but a lot of people expressed interest in both characters. I haven't looked into Legion structure and rules, but my plan is only to have 2 classes of guild members. Everyone I know, or everyone who is vouched for by someone I know will have full access to everything. Anyone who is a raw recruit (someone saying: Hey can I join your Legion?) will not initially have access to the Legion Bank or power to invite others to the guild. I plan that the guild would be RP friendly but not RP Required. The big thing of the guild will be to group together and to help each other out. I did a little research and found 2 things that I think will be very conclusive to helping others. First, you can get decent XP for killing things up to about 5 levels lower than you. I was 13th level and went and finished up a 9th level quest. I got good XP for the monsters I killed during that time. Second, as it stands, quests will only give you 70-90% of the XP you need for the next level. The remaining XP will have to be made up for by Tradeskilling and Grinding. Helping your friends complete quests, even if you have already completed them is a great way to make up that last diference! I'm pretty sure if you pre-order you can reserve names and servers. I don't know if you can reserve legion stuff. If you are interested in joining. Please respond with your Name Faction and Class. If you have a thought as to what to call our Legions, I'd love that as well. If you think you might like Aion but want to know more about the game, I can make that a seperate post. If you have friends who are going to play, feel free to spread the information or direct them to this post. Aquinas, Elyos Priest Lumiel Server Raquiel, Asmodian Scout Kasniel Server Current Mood:  determined | | Thursday, September 3rd, 2009 | | 3:46 pm |
So I was perusing the bible
Someone quoted from the book of Poor Richard's Almanac that "The Lord helps those who help themselves." I suggested this did not appear in the bible anywhere and that in fact Matthew 25 suggested quite the contrary (One can argue that Genesis sets us up as our brother's keepers). Anyway... I found another verse that I really took to heart... Proverbs 28:25 “He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife: but he that putteth his trust in the LORD shall be made fat.” Suddenly all is made clear..... Current Mood: amused | | Friday, August 28th, 2009 | | 1:21 pm |
Ireland Trip
On Life Support and fading fast.. It was nice to think about I guess. Current Mood:  disappointed | | Tuesday, August 25th, 2009 | | 10:54 am |
Thoughts on Religious Laws
So I had a long talk about religion last night, and I came to some interesting insights. In government, our laws start out simple and move towards increasingly complex systems. I believe that religion starts out complex and moves towards increasingly simple systems. In government you start with anarchy or no laws. Then you get a few laws with simple ways of dealing with them. For a long time there were only 4 felonies (Murder, Rape, Arson, Theft) and the only punishment was Death. Eventually more and more crimes were added on, and different punishments for different crimes (Stocks, Prison, Branding, etc). After society gets suitably complex, you start adding civil laws. Tax Codes, Contracts, Intellectual Property. Towards the end you get literally hundreds of books proscribing behavior where originally there were 4 felonies with 1 punishment. Religion seems to work the other way, at least in the West. We start out with Leviticus which goes on and on about often the most simple behavior. I believe that Talmudic codes actually go into even greater detail that the Christian Bible, particularly about what is clean and unclean. Then Jesus comes along and actually SIMPLIFIES the law. He says: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. Now presumably one can argue that all of Leviticus is contained within these two edicts. But I am not sure how shellfish or polyblends work into these two. Just because its more simple doesn't mean that it is EASIER. In fact, I think its harder to love your enemies than it is to not steal. Yet Jesus wants us to do just that. The impression I get, particularly as I have kids of my own, is that in order to develop as a moral person, you NEED to start with a bunch of rules. It starts as 'because Daddy says so.' As the child gets older you explain to them why the rules are there and what they mean. As the child gets older, a good parent gives more and more latitude for the child to make their own decisions and interpret the rules as they see fit. So I guess I see fundamentalist Christians as very young children who really only understand the rules because 'daddy says so.' I often fear these type of people, without fear of hell, would wantonly commit crimes or sins. You often hear that sort of reasoning when they talk about athiests. They literally don't understand why an Atheist would be moral or good. After a while, a Christian matures into their faith. They understand and love God and try to love their neighbor without the need for spouting bible verses. They understand that God has written the word in their heart and they try to act upon what they learn as an adult. Ultimately, I think we don't NEED religion in order to maintain our relationship with God. All the tools are there to teach us, but we can grow beyond them. Just like i don't need to remember all the parts of speech in order to talk, I don't need to memorize the bible in order to live a life pleasing to God. And I think if you look at a lot of other religions, they teach the same lessons. The same tools are used whether you are Buddhist Wiccan or Christian. Many roads to the same destination My Fathers House has many rooms. All that good stuff. Current Mood:  calm | | Thursday, August 20th, 2009 | | 10:42 am |
Limerick Update
So, I have confirmed my meeting with some guy who owns a castle AT the castle next Friday at 11:00. I hope Jetlag doesn't eat me. That will be 6:AM our time. I am pushing to leave Wednesday so I can get used to the time difference... and see more of Ireland. I had a conversation with the castle owner that was quaint. Remember to say everything Castle Owner says with a charming Irish Accent CO: So where is your client from then? ME: She's from Somalia, although she has a lot of family in Kenya CO: And Other Investor, She's from Ohio right? ME: Yes. I believe that is correct. CO: And where are you from? ME: I'm from Atlanta, GA. Originally from Nashvile TN. I'm just a simple Southern Boy. CO: Ah! Like Bill Clinton? (Pause) ME: Yeah, I guess so. Current Mood: amused | | Wednesday, August 19th, 2009 | | 2:13 pm |
Every so often, it pays to get out of bed.
It appears, as part of my job, I will be getting flown via private Jet to Limerick, Ireland next week. I'm not sure how long I will be staying. It may be one meeting then back across the pond. Now I must scramble to get my passport... and probably a new suit. Current Mood: excited | | Thursday, July 23rd, 2009 | | 1:20 pm |
The future of Speaks and MMOs
So I have continued to plug along in WoW and its still not doing it for me. I've found an old EQ guild that I played with back in my EQ days and met up with them, but they are horde and all my 80s are Alliance. I've gotten a Shaman up to 32 (Chain lightning woo!) But its a long trudge towards 80 and Faction Changing is probably a few months off. In other news there is this new game called Aion that is getting some good buzz. The website for the game is: http://na.aiononline.com/en/And a good review is at: http://www.geekistry.com/?p=367If I could get 10 people to say they were going to play and play on the same server, I'd probably give it a try and dump WoW. The other WoW killer for me is Fallen Earth. Its got a September release date now and I am hopeful. I also know many of the designers and they are all cool. Anyone wanna set up a team there? I am definitely getting that game. Let me know. Current Mood: anxious |
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